Gloucester Rugby vs London Wasps - 1873 Man of the Match

Gloucester Rugby vs London Wasps - 1873 Man of the Match

Gloucester sparkled at times, but were left to rue the mistakes that allowed London Wasps to sneak an enthralling Aviva Premiership clash by 32 points to 30. Rob Cook's two try performance saw him named Man of the Match by the 1873 Club members.

Rob came into the Abbey Business Lounge after the game to receive his award from Steve Bicknell representing StubHub.

He then took part in an informal Q&A, facilitated by former Gloucester back row forward Simon Devereux alongside team mates Ryan Mills and Will James.

Simon provided the following summary:

"An inconsistent performance from Gloucester who gave themselves a mountain to climb after a slow start, conceding 14 points in the first quarter. Disappointing for Gloucester was that both scores came directly from turnovers when in possession.

"Gloucester improved in the final 10 minutes of the half eventually working a try for Shaun Knight following an unorthodox grubber kick from Andy Hazell requiring several replays by the TMO!

"The second half started perfectly for Gloucester working good field position with a lineout 5m from the Wasps line. The Gloucester forwards' coaching staff had clearly done their homework on Wasps' defensive lineout structure, resulting in a well executed try after Sione Kalamafoni took the ball short at the front and crashed over.

"At this point Gloucester were in the ascendency but will regret several turnovers in the opposition 22.

"Having worked their way back into the game and taken the lead for the 2nd time with a Rob Cook try following a Gloucester penalty kick being pushed wide, Gloucester let themselves down immediately with a mix up from the restart enabling Wasps to score again which was soon followed by Christian Wade's second and bonus point try for the visitors.

"Credit to Gloucester for pressing until the final whistle enabling Rob Cook to score his 2nd try and 2 losing bonus points for Gloucester. Rob picked up the 1873 Man of the Match award for another solid performance.

"Overall Gloucester's set piece was much improved from the previous week at Bath and they showed glimpses of what they are capable of with the ball in hand, but ultimately were left frustrated, paying the price for a slow start and gifting Wasps 3 of their 4 tries."